One of just 80 space flown Apollo 17 Robbins medals has sold for $38,837 at an auction in the US, beating its $35,000 estimate by 10.9%.
The medal, which flew on the 1972 mission - the last of the Moon landings - once resided in the collection of Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan, the last person to leave the Moon's surface.
 Gene Cernan was the last man on the Moon |
Another of the 80 medals from the Apollo 17 mission sold for $26,290 in March 2008, which represents a 9.82% pa rise in value, an indication of the upward mobility of the space memorabilia market.
The latest sale was no doubt boosted by a letter of provenance from Cernan, which stated: "I hereby certify and confirm that silver Apollo XVII Robbins medallion, serial # 73, was flown to the moon and remained in lunar orbit aboard the Command Module 'America' during the mission, December 7-19, 1972".
PFC Auctions is currently auctioning a US flag signed by Cernan, fellow moonwalker Neil Armstrong, and Jim Lovell, the commander of the Apollo 13 mission.
A space flown Apollo 11 Robbins medal, originally from the family of Skylab 4 astronaut Gerald Carr, made $31,070 at the auction, a figure matched by an Apollo 16 space-flown Robbins medal.
A command module flight director attitude indicator, made in 1966 for the Apollo space programme but never used in space, sold for $65,725, while a complete Sokol KV-2 spacesuit, thought to have been used in training, achieved $21,510.
Paul Fraser Collectibles has a training suit worn and signed by Buzz Aldrin currently available for sale.
Two further Apollo 11 Robbins medals will auction on May 23. We will bring you the results.
